Top 14 Mustang Styling Trends

Building Character: Blurring the Line Between Form and Function

6. Wheels

Generally speaking, stock wheels are lame. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between. Stock wheels must meet rigorous manufacturer requirements, and in turn, are pretty plain.

There are virtually unlimited choices when it comes to wheels, and icon Weld Racing is one of the leaders in the wheel market. "All of Weld Racing's products fit the form and function definition," says Chris Bovis of Weld Racing. "Our most functional product, the Delta 1, was built around a singular focus on performance, but it's the most recognizable design in the market today. This focus on building the most optimized wheel continues through each product line, from 300-mph drag race wheels to our street lines, the RTS and classic Sport Forged."

Rocket Racing Wheels (shown) also makes wheels that fit both the form and function categories.

7. Stance

Low is cool, whether for drag, open track, or street. The lower center of gravity certainly helps handling capabilities, and almost all Mustangs look better slightly lower than stock.

The easiest way to achieve the stance you want is with lowering springs. A set will costs a few hundred dollars, but the results are totally worth it.

Couple the right stance with a properly sized set of wheels and tires, and you've got yourself a sweet ride, even if the rest of the car is stock. Granted, you may lose a bit of ride quality, but if that's what you're worried about, then you need to trade your Stang for a Grand Marquis.

8. Billet Accessories

Definitely on the form end of the spectrum, billet accessories still are a very popular trend, and for good reason. Companies like UPR Products make billet accessories for interior, exterior, and underhood. It's an easy way to hide or replace black plastic pieces with shiny billet aluminum. Plus, they're not very expensive.

9. Lights

Headlamps, taillamps, and turn signals are all functional components that we tend to overlook. But the aftermarket is filled with a plethora of options to upgrade your lamps. Common upgrades are clear or smoked lenses, but there are a bunch of newer, more unique options available.

Lately, sequential taillamps have become very popular as a retrofit kit. Also, with trickle-down technology, LED and HID lamps have begun to make their way into the aftermarket. AmericanMuscle.com offers Raxiom headlamps and taillamps, and even makes halo-style headlamps like those on the '13-'14 Mustang.

10. Seats and Harnesses

A great way to improve the look and feel of your interior is to change your seats. TMI Products offers an array of upgraded foam, upholstery, and matching trim. If you own a Fox, you can mimic the '03-'04 Mach 1 seats, '03-'04 Cobra seats, or have TMI stitch you a custom color, pattern, or material. It offers packages for almost every model year of Mustangs.

Corbeau offers entire seats geared toward racing. But it also offers street seats as well. There are fixed-back and reclining versions, and like TMI, you can choose your material and color. Corbeau will even sell you extra material so you can have your back seat covered to match.

Even if you're not required to use them by a sanctioning body, safety harnesses look awesome in Mustangs. Combine the right color harnesses with a sporty street seat or racing seat, and completely transform the interior of your Stang with very little effort.

11. Smooth Engine Bay

A mod that has gained much popularity over recent years is the smooth engine bay. No matter how you tackle it, smoothing the engine bay of your Stang or other fast Ford is not quick or easy. You could spend hundreds of hours welding the holes closed, grinding the welds, smoothing it all out with body filler, sanding, priming, and painting the whole thing; or you can buy panels that weld or rivet in.

Latemodel Restoration offers stock replacement inner fender panels that are smooth. You just remove your originals and weld these in. Another option is Scott Rod Fabrications' weld-in steel panels or rivet-in aluminum panels. Either way, you're going to be happy with the results and make your friends jealous in the process.

12. Interior Swaps

Another way to transform your interior is to do a full interior swap. This is a common mod for Fox owners, who often swap in SN-95 interior. We've even seen a full GT500 interior swap in a Fox, though this isn't as common (see photo). Many others swap their full interiors to a more popular color, like dark charcoal or black.

Something we haven't seen, but expect to as time progresses, is ditching the '05-'09 interior for '10-'14 interior.

13. Gauges

When you mention gauges to a Stanger, the term "monster tach" immediately comes to mind—with a big, bright shift light. Tachs are still cool, but the gauge market has come a long way over the past 25 years, and it's more than just adding a dinner-plate tach to your dash.

AutoMeter is a leader in the gauge market, and offers a mind-boggling selection of different types, styles, sizes, and colors of gauges. Even if your car is built for the street or show scene, gauges are still cool—especially if they light up in a unique color. A-pillar gauge pods and dash gauge pods are cool, too, if the gauges in them are functional and necessary. It's also cool to find unique spots for your gauges, like the console or center stack.

14. The Minimalist

Finally, our last mod is one we don't mention very often—minimalization. The minimalist approach is one that removes components rather than adding them. Instead of becoming flashier, you become more subdued or restrained. The Bullitt Mustangs of '01 and '08-'09 are great examples of minimalist modifications, though those were done at the factory.

Some of the minimalist mods that we like are the spoiler delete, badge delete, stripe delete, grille delete, and moulding delete. The door- handle delete has its place, but only on highly modified show cars or race cars. The wiper delete looks cool, too, but has obvious drawbacks on street cars.